Issue Archive

Headwall (Fitchburg, MA) has announced the availability of a new hyperspectral imager targeting very high resolution spectral measurements of 0.1 nm over specific spectral ranges that yield indicators of vegetative fluorescence to measure plant health. The new sensor is based on Headwall's all-reflective concentric optical design that uses very precise, very high diffraction-efficiency gratings for simultaneous high spatial and spectral resolution of < 0.1nm across the spectral range of the instrument.

Coated laser optics are used to optimize the characteristics of the emitted laser beam. However, losses are produced at each glass surface - thus the number of optics should be reduced to a minimum. Laser Components (Hudson, NH) offers laser optics that have complex coatings on both the front and the back. From a technical standpoint, this was almost impossible to achieve for a long time because the coating process on the second side heated the first coating and often caused it to crack. The more complex the coating, the more pronounced the problem was.

Hexagon Metrology (North Kingstown, RI) has announced the release of a new HP-O non-contact scanning probe for high accuracy measurement and inspection applications. The device exerts no physical impact on a part, delivering force-free measurement of blisks, blades, gear profiles and flank lines, and other potentially deformable parts, without a loss of accuracy. The HP-O probe’s 3mm diameter and measurement range of up to 20mm provide access to points that are not accessible to tactile probes. Optical measurements can be captured in single point or scanning mode.

BinOptics (Ithaca, NY) has announced the availability of 25G lasers at four wavelengths (1270, 1290, 1310 and 1330nm), allowing 100G solutions for data centers through course wavelength division multiplexing (CDWM). Trends such as cloud computing and streaming video have fueled a rapid increase in bandwidth demands from data centers. Compared to 10G and 40G, 100G solutions provide an increase in data transfer with lower power consumption per bit of transferred data.

The latest AVIA NX series lasers from Coherent, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) are qswitched, diode-pumped, solid-state lasers that offer output powers as high as 40W at 355 nm. These new lasers implement Coherent's patented pumping technology of the Nd:YVO4 gain medium, which delivers increased overall system efficiency (conversion of input electrical energy into usable light). They also incorporate Coherent’s latest optical mounting technology, called PermAlign 2, which is a simpler and more compact method that yields enhanced stability and greater long term reliability. Reliability is further enhanced through implementation of Highly Accelerated Life Testing and Stress Screening (HALT/HASS) protocols during AVIA NX production.

The highly repeatable and thermally stable feedback sensors used on the AGV-HPO scanner systems from Aerotech (Pittsburgh, PA) can be calibrated down to single-digit, micron-level accuracy over the field of view. With the extremely low thermal gain drift performance of the position transducers, complex, high-density laser machining applications will maintain consistent micron-level feature placement accuracy over the lifetime of the process.

Question of the Week

This week's Question: This month, the Federal Aviation Administration proposed long-awaited rules on the commercial use of small drones, requiring operators to be certified, fly only during daylight, and keep their aircraft in sight. The ruling,...